Executive Chef

Talent Edge Recruiting; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); On-site; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

IRA retirement plan with company match

12 days of paid time off

Growth path to General Manager

Onsite centralized commissary kitchen

Job summary

Talent Edge Recruiting is seeking an experienced Executive Chef to lead a high-volume kitchen at our client's central commissary in the Philadelphia area. This onsite role focuses on strategic purchasing, menu planning, costing, and systems to scale operations for weddings, corporate events, and private celebrations.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in executive kitchen leadership, strong vendor management, food and labor cost control, and the ability to build annual purchasing plans and

Qualifications

• 5+ years leading kitchens as an Executive Chef or Executive Sous Chef.
• Ability to work onsite at the central commissary kitchen.
• Strong purchasing, food and labor cost, and inventory management skills.
• Proven ability to build annual purchasing plans and standardized menus.
• Organized, systems-minded leader with administrative focus.

Responsibilities

• Develop annual purchasing and menu plans to standardize orders and reduce costs.
• Procure food and kitchen supplies, manage vendor relationships and scheduling.
• Control food costs through recipe costing, waste tracking, and portion standards.
• Oversee inventory, receiving, counts, stock rotation, and repeatable processes.
• Create advance prep plans and production schedules across venues.
• Lead kitchen team of 8–10; hire, schedule, train staff.
• Update menu and pricing; coordinate tastings and events.
• Collaborate with leadership, Sales, and Event Coordination on tastings and events.
• Ensure food safety standards, permits, inspections, and sanitation logs.

Skills

Executive kitchen leadership

Purchasing

Cost control

Inventory management

Menu planning

Team leadership

Education

Culinary degree

Tools

Caterease

Job description

Location: Philadelphia, PA (Western Suburbs) — onsite at a central commissary kitchen

Pay Rate: $100,000+ base salary, based on experience and administrative scope

Overview

For three decades, this family-run hospitality group has been one of the Philadelphia suburbs' go-to names for high-end catering and celebrations — an award-winning custom catering brand, a portfolio of historic event venues, and mobile food service that brings the kitchen straight to the party. Hundreds of weddings, corporate events, and private celebrations a year all run through one central commissary kitchen. And that kitchen is ready for its next chapter.

Responsibilities

• Annual purchasing and menu planning — moving the operation from as-needed ordering and fully custom menus to an annual buying strategy and a systematized menu plan that scales and lowers cost
• Food and kitchen supply purchasing, vendor relationships and pricing, and delivery scheduling
• Food cost control: recipe and menu costing, food cost monitoring, portion standards, and waste tracking
• Inventory and systems — receiving, counts, and stock rotation, plus building the repeatable ordering and inventory processes that replace today's manual approach
• Prep planning: advance prep plans and production schedules built from Event Orders across venues, off-premise catering, and mobile food service
• Kitchen leadership and labor — leading the Sous Chef and a kitchen team of 8–10; hiring, scheduling, and training staff to match the event calendar
• Menu and package pricing updates, culinary Event Order review, and tasting coordination, with room for creative menu input
• Partnering with leadership, Sales, and Event Coordination on tastings, menu questions, and event planning
• Food safety standards, health permits and inspections, and sanitation logs

Qualifications

• 5+ years leading kitchens as an Executive Chef or Executive Sous Chef
• Able to work fully onsite at the central commissary kitchen
• Strong purchasing, food and labor cost, and inventory management skills
• Proven ability to build annual purchasing plans and standardized menus and recipes designed to scale
• Organized, systems-minded leader whose strongest suit is the administrative side of the kitchen
• Thrives on challenge and change — energized by twists and turns, and comfortable working alongside strong, direct personalities

Preferred Skills

• High-volume catering, banquet, off-premise, or wedding experience (restaurant Executive Chefs with strong administrative skills will also be considered)
• Culinary degree
• Caterease or comparable event management software experience

This is not a remote position — this role is fully onsite at our client's central commissary kitchen in the Philadelphia western suburbs. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Pay range and compensation package

• Base salary of $100,000+, based on experience — with room to go higher for candidates who bring strong administrative and operational leadership
• Schedule: weekday-based with core daytime hours, flexing around the event calendar — typically 40–60 hours/week depending on season
• Kitchen administration focus — purchasing, planning, costing, and systems — rather than hands-on prep or on-site event service
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• IRA retirement plan with company match
• 12 days of paid time off
• A clear growth path into the General Manager role
• A close-knit, family-run team with three decades of reputation behind it — where the Executive Chef has genuine authority to build the systems the business runs on

Equal Opportunity Statement

Our client is an equal opportunity employer; all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.